Reckless [Dean Winchester]

17. The Reunion (Part 3)

17. The Reunion (Part 3)

"What'd she do now?" is the first thing that comes out of Dean's mouth when he sees Sam carrying me back to the Cassity porch.

"Nothing," Sam responds. "She's just...I think she's in shock. Max? Max, are you listening?"

I nod mutely.

"I'm gonna set you down now, okay?"

I nod again, and Sam puts me down on my feet.

"What happened?" Dean moves on.

"The hound got Margot," Sam explains. "She and Noah decided it was smart to hunt something they can't understand in the middle of the night. We got separated-that should be enough."

"Head inside for a sec, Sam, I've got her."

I flinch as Sam grips my shoulder, squeezing gently, before heading inside.

"Max?" I look at Dean. It's weird that he used my nickname. "Whoa, okay, we need to relax the death grip." I let him pry my weapon out of my hand. "Do you need to stay out here?"

My blue eyes widen. "Stay out here and wait for a hound to come knocking at the door and kill me?" I shake my head. "Uh-uh, I need to go inside."

"Okay, okay," he says gently. "But, seriously...are you gonna be okay?"

"Let's see how the rest of the night goes, then I'll tell you." Numbly, I head inside, with Dean right behind me. We meet Sam in the hallway before we enter the living room to find Noah, Cindy, and Alice Cassity all with upset expressions.

"What was that thing?" Noah demands.

"It was a Hellhound," Dean tells him. "See, when you sell your soul to a demon, they're the ones that come and rip it out of you."

"Demon?" Alice repeats.

"Crowley. Poncey guy, about yea big"-as an accurate measurement, he places his hand on top of my head-"mountain of dicks. We know he was here ten years ago, making dreams come true. Now, if you didn't sign, great. That freak out there won't touch you. But if you did, I need to know, and I need to know now. So, hands up."

"So, wait," Noah cuts in. "T-the British guy was a demon, and now there's a Hellhound after us? A-are you insane?"

"They're obviously insane," Cindy says.

"Oh, like you have a right to say anything about us," I snap through a hoarse tone. "And don't play dumb."

"Yeah. I'm not playing. I didn't sell my damn soul."

"Well, somebody did, and the sooner that idiot owns up, the sooner the rest of you can go." I cross my arms, feeling myself return to some normalcy.

Alice and Cindy look around. I sigh through my nose. Stubborn women.

"All right, seal 'em in," Dean declares.

"Yeah," Sam agrees.

"What?!" Alice panics.

"Look, I'm gonna spread goofer dust around the doors, the windows. That will keep the Hellhound out...for a while."

"What is that-how long?" Noah is back to blurting out questions.

"Long enough for me to stab it in its throat," Dean tells him.